I attended a National Speakers Association Conference a few weeks ago in Orlando. During the three-day conference:

• I learned a lot.
• I was reminded a lot.
• I met new people – and it was sooo nice to be in person!!
• I enjoyed the weather in Orlando, Florida – it’s much nicer than Carmel, Indiana in February.
• I found that, like many industries, the speaker industry has had a rough couple years. Many professional speakers gave up, found different positions, and were not able to shift away from live speaking engagements.
• I heard about how many speakers thrived, adapted, and turned to technology and remote speaking and training. Many wrote books or started podcasts or started remote learning programs. Those speakers who adapted often had the best two years of their career.

Since I returned, I have been asking some of our internal team members and our clients, “How adaptable were you/your organization during the past two years?”   

I’ve heard a wide range of responses. Some of them had significant adjustments, downsized their offices, and sent most, if not all, of their employees home to work. Some never left their offices or introduced a remote or hybrid workforce; they just masked up and worked as normal.   Some were more profitable than ever, and some had to make some cuts and downsize. My company, Purple Ink, had to downsize in 2020 due to a 45% drop in revenues, but then rebounded stronger than ever in 2021.

What about you? Did you seek out additional learning opportunities, acclimate to a new or different culture, or have you been a bit lost and not able to adapt?  The answers I heard were not based on their generation or experience but, truly, on their ability to adapt and change.

When the conference ended, I spent a day and a half at a very crowded Disney World with some of my extended family.  After closing for a period of time and then limiting their attendance for a while, Disney appeared to be at full capacity.  I could tell, though, that they took their downtime to reinvent their wait times, lines, ride reservations, genie passes, character greetings, parades, ordering process at restaurants, and more.  They came back better than ever (and, of course, more expensive than ever!).

Some find Disney World to be overcrowded, exhausting, and full of long lines.  I find Disney World to truly be “the most magical place on earth.” If you learn their new systems (which are not simple) and processes (thankfully my 20-year-old niece was in charge), it’s an enjoyable place filled with employees who are trained to create joyful experiences for their customers. They adapted, they implemented, they are better than before.

What did you do? Did you take opportunities to learn and grow? Did you adapt? Did you find personal growth?  What are you doing to make your workplace “magical” or JoyPowered® for you as a leader or an employee and for your stakeholders – investors, employees, leaders, and customers?  We’d love to know!

P.S. – If you are looking for opportunities to learn and grow (for yourself or others in your organization) check out Purple Ink’s four training series: Management Essentials, Women in Leadership, DEIB, and JoyPowered® Leadership.